DPRK senior official heads to US for talks

CGTN

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has sent a senior official, Kim Yong Chol, to the US for working-level talks, Yonhap reported on Tuesday. 

Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, was sent presumably for preparatory talks with the US side on a possible summit between US President Donald Trump and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un, which was initially scheduled on June 12 in Singapore. 

People watch a TV screen showing file footage of Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, May 26, 2018. /AP Photo

Kim Yong Chol landed at Beijing airport on Tuesday and will journey on to New York the following day after talks with Chinese officials, according to Yonhap news agency, which cited diplomatic sources. 

According to Chung Sung-yoon, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, Kim Yong Chol would be the most senior DPRK official to step onto US soil since Vice Marshall Jo Myong Rok met President Bill Clinton in 2000. 

Chung added that Kim Yong Chol has long been a right-hand man to DPRK's leader, playing a front-seat role during recent rounds of diplomacy aimed at ending the nuclear stalemate on the Korean Peninsula. 

It was widely expected that Kim Yong Chol would travel to the US to reciprocate recent visits by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The two may meet to put final touches on the preparations for the Trump-Kim summit, Yonhap said. 

It is believed that the visit of Kim Yong Chol indicates the advancement of preparations for the Trump-Kim summit, according to reports. 

CCTV reporters wait at Singapore's airport, May 28, 2018. /CCTV Photo

Meanwhile, a delegation from the DPRK arrived in Singapore on Monday for the summit. Kim Chang Son, a senior official of DPRK’s State Affairs Commission, is leading the delegation to discuss logistics and security issues. 

On the same day, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Joe Hagin, who leads the US delegation, also arrived in the city state. 

The two delegations are expected to meet as early as Tuesday. 

South Korean President Moon Jae-in bids farewell to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un as he leaves after their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, DPRK, May 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Tuesday's talks are running in parallel with separate discussions at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom. 

The delegations are led by US ambassador to Seoul Sung Kim, a former chief US nuclear envoy, and DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. 

The two sides are reported to have been discussing denuclearization methods and timelines as well as ways to ensure DPRK's security, according to Yonhap.

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